A corneal abrasion is a scratch on your eye. It can happen in an instant — such as when you poke your eye or something (like dirt or sand) gets trapped under your eyelid. Your eye hurts, and even if you can keep it shut, it doesn’t ease the discomfort. Light can make it sting and burn.

The abrasion affects your cornea, which is the clear layer that covers the iris — the colored part of your eye. It also shields the pupil, which is the black circle in the middle of your eye.

You might get a scratch if you:

• Poke your eye with a fingernail, pen, or makeup brush
• Get dirt, sand, sawdust, ash, or some other foreign matter in your eye
• Get chemicals in your eye
• Rub your eyes too hard
• Wear poor-fitting or dirty contact lenses
• Get a certain type of eye infection
• Have surgery without proper eye protection
• Play sports or engage in high-risk physical activity without safety eyewear
• Overwear your contact lenses

You may not feel symptoms right away. As a result, you may not be able to figure out what caused it.

If you’ve scratched your eye before, you’ll probably remember how it feels. If not, you might:

• Feel like you have sand, grit, or another foreign body in your eye
• Have pain, especially when you open or close your eye
• Notice tearing and redness
• Become sensitive to light
• Have blurred vision

Scratched eye treatment includes these steps:

• Inspect your eye for small particles that may be stuck under your eyelid and causing symptoms.
• Flush your eye with clean water or saline solution once or twice to remove any particles or soothe your eye surface. Don’t rinse your eye more than a few times, as it can worsen the situation.
• Avoid rubbing or pressing on your eye.

Your doctor may prescribe antibiotic eye drops or ointment to keep your eye from getting infected. They might also give you medicated eye drops to ease pain and redness, along with pain medicine. They might tape your eye shut, put in a bandage contact lens, and have you wear a patch over your eye to keep light from bothering it.

Some common eye drops for corneal abrasion include erythromycin ointment, ciprofloxacin drops, and moxifloxacin drops. You probably won’t need pain relievers. But if you do, your doctor may suggest over-the-counter (OTC) oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). They may prescribe a topical analgesic (pain-relieving eye drops or ointment).

Is surgery needed for a corneal abrasion?

Probably not. Surgery isn’t usually needed for a corneal abrasion itself. But rare and severe cases, with large or deep scars from nonhealing abrasions, might need an operation called a superficial keratectomy. Deep scratches can cause infections, scars, and other problems. If you don’t get help for them, they can lead to long-term vision problems. Report any unusual symptoms, including a return of pain after treatment, to your eye doctor.

Most small corneal abrasions heal on their own in a few days and feel better in 24-48 hours. The cells in that part of your eye multiply very quickly, but larger scrapes may take longer to heal.

If your eye isn’t feeling better after 24 hours, you should contact your optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Factors that can delay corneal abrasion healing time

Sometimes, doctors use a bandage contact lens to let your corneal abrasion heal and reduce any pain with blinking. There’s a risk of infection with a bandage contact lens, so follow up with your doctor one to two days after this treatment for monitoring. This can extend your healing time.

Other things that can delay the healing of your corneal abrasion include:

• Rubbing your eyes
• Wearing contact lenses while you’re healing
• Having preexisting eye conditions, such as dry eye or diabetes, severe abrasions, infections, or neurotrophic keratitis (nerve damage to your cornea)
• Overusing a topical anesthetic
• Having poor overall health

Seek emergency care if:

• You have pain, vision changes, or increased light sensitivity after a scratch or trauma to the eyeball.
• A foreign object is lodged in your eye, eyelid, or under the eyelid.
• You experience loss of vision.
• Something hit your eye at high speed or with high force.

When to see a health care provider

Get medical help if you have blurred vision or eye pain, tearing, redness, light sensitivity, irritation, or a hard time opening your eye, even if nothing seems to be in your eye. There may be a scratch on the surface of your eye called a corneal abrasion.

Follow up

If you see a health care provider:

• They will examine the eye for damage, remove any particles, and check the vision.
• They may prescribe antibiotic ointment or pain relievers.

Small surface corneal abrasions heal in a couple of days. Pain medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be taken for pain. Avoid ibuprofen and other NSAIDs if you have heart failure or kidney failure.

For larger abrasions, a bandage contact lens may be placed to aid with comfort and healing. For severe or nonhealing abrasions, you may need care from an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon).

While your eye heals:

• Don’t rub your eye.
• Don’t wear contacts until your eye doctor says it’s safe to do so.
• Wear sunglasses to ease discomfort caused by sunlight.

Yes. If you feel like there’s something in your eye, avoid rubbing it, as that can cause a scratch. Do this instead:

• Blink your eye several times.
• Pull your upper eyelid over the lower eyelid.
• Gently rinse your eye out with clean water or a sterile saline solution.

Don’t try to remove anything that’s stuck onto your cornea. Only a doctor should do that.

If you still feel like something’s in your eye, see an eye doctor as soon as you can or go to the emergency room. The doctor will look at your eye and use a product called eye stain that lets them see the surface of your cornea. If something is on it or in it, they can safely remove it.

• A corneal abrasion is a scratch on your eye that can happen in an instant. 
• Get medical help if you have blurred vision, eye pain, tearing, redness, light sensitivity, irritation, or a hard time opening your eye, even if there doesn’t appear to be something in your eye. 
• A minor eye scratch should heal on its own in one to three days. Severe abrasions may take longer.
• For severe or nonhealing abrasions, you may need care from an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon).

How many times should I apply eye drops for corneal abrasion? 

That depends on the type of medication you use and how severe your abrasion is. Follow your doctor’s directions. 

Is it OK to touch your cornea?

Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes, as that can damage or weaken the surface of your cornea.

Does your cornea self-heal?

Your cornea will usually heal on its own from minor injuries, like scratches and abrasions, within a couple of days. But more serious injuries, infections, or other conditions may require medical treatment. 

Is corneal damage permanent?

Most minor corneal damage isn’t permanent. But more severe injuries can lead to scarring and possible permanent vision damage if not treated properly.